earth day

Welcome to April, also known as Earth Month. At Meatless Monday, we love this time of year. As the weather turns warmer, our thoughts turn to dark, rich soil and a fresh crop of flavorful fruits and veggies.

As you may have noticed, the health of our planet is getting more attention these days.

Global News

Many people were introduced to Chef Fabio Viviani when he was a contestant on the Emmy-winning Bravo competition series Top Chef. His career began years before he became a Fan Favorite and has only flourished in the years since. This spring, Viviani released his latest cookbook, Fabio’s 30-Minute Italian: Over 100 Fabulous, Quick and Easy Recipes. As a friend and supporter of Meatless Monday he includes many meat-free recipes that are simple enough to make for the first dinner of the week.

Anyone familiar with Viviani knows that he isn’t merely a chef. Since gaining popularity on Top Chef, he has capitalized on his entrepreneurial spirit and sense of humor to bring his cuisine to as many people as possible, especially home cooks. While cultivating a successful career as a businessman, frequent television guest, and author, he has always focused on recipes that are attainable for anyone aspiring to cook at home (but perhaps a little intimidated by complicated recipes). In February, he launched his YouTube cooking show, “Fabio’s Kitchen,” which features several meat-free recipes that are designed to be easy to make in little time. He says:

“When my wife and I had our son Gage, our lives became really busy. I needed to learn how to make delicious food at home in a shorter amount of time. I wrote this cookbook to teach others how they can make meals in under 30 minutes. As a chef, I like cooking with meat but I also really like cooking with vegetables – it’s all about how you season the ingredients! The dishes we’re using for Meatless Monday are packed with flavor – and best of all they’re meat free!”

Meatless Monday is happy to bring some of Viviani’s delicious vegetarian recipes from Fabio’s 30-Minute Italian to your table. Here are a few of them:

Today is World Food Day and one of the best ways to celebrate is to eat local. It seems like the opposite would be true, but supporting local markets is a great way to put money back in the pockets of farmers around the world. It’s also a great opportunity to make a great plant-based meal this Meatless Monday!

We didn’t plan for World Food Day to fall on Meatless Monday, but why not go with it? There are so many reasons to support local farmers on World Food Day. Here are some of the most important ones:

• Local farmers are more likely to grow a variety of foods, representing biodiversity and reviving plants that are endangered. That means more flavors and a bigger menu of fruits and vegetables!

• Eating local is a great economic choice for local farmers who follow best environmental practices. Buying their products is great for the local economy and healthier for everyone.

• Buying food that is available locally means less shipping. That means less fossil fuels used to produce and transport food.

In case you needed more incentive to eat locally on World Food Day, Slow Food is giving you another:

Beginning today, you can enter the Eat Local Challenge to win a trip to Turin, Italy! Consider it a bonus for doing something great for the world’s farmers. Visit Slow Food to enter to win and accept the Eat Local Challenge!

Home delivery meals are becoming more and more diverse for a growing audience of consumers. Meatless Monday has been following one such service, Veestro, which offers plant-based meals. Customers can choose from a la carte, meal packs, weight loss programs, or juice cleanses. They even offer a Meatless Monday package for people who are dabbling in meat-free eating but might not be ready to take a full-time plunge. We spoke with Co-Founders Monica Klausner, and her brother Mark Fachler, to discuss the success of Veestro, and what we can look forward to this holiday season.

While Veestro is a big hit with vegans and vegetarians – they are past winners of VegNews magazine’s “Favorite Vegan Meal Delivery Service” – the company actively courts people who still eat meat, making them an ideal delivery service for Meatless Monday. KIausner shared an email they received from a very satisfied customer who described herself as a “self-proclaimed meat eater.” She said she was “so surprised” at the great taste and quality of the food and “didn’t feel deprived” of meat. Klausner explained that, when coming up with new dishes, “it’s all about taste” but the best way to introduce newcomers to plant-based eating is with recipes that are familiar.

Some of these recognizable “gateway meals” include Country Fried Chick’n (using a meatless stand-in for chicken), Veggie Lasagna, Spinach Pie, and a new Mac ‘n’ Cheese made with butternut squash, potatoes, peas, panko crust, and chipotle. Long-time vegans and vegetarians seek out more sophisticated offerings like the Quinoa Bake, Beluga Lentil Braise, and Red Curry with Tofu.

“We try to have enough variety so we can reach a big, wide part of the population,” Klausner told us. “We want more omnivores and carnivores to eat more plants.”

If their regular menu wasn’t delicious enough, Veestro’s holiday menu is arriving the first week of November! It will feature new recipes (that are being kept under wraps, but one of them is said to be gluten-free) but regular customers will be thrilled to hear that the incredibly popular Herb Turkey with sides will be coming back.

To celebrate Veestro’s ongoing success and upcoming new items, Meatless Monday is offering our readers a special discount code to use at Veestro. Use the code MONDAY20 at checkout to get 20% a la cart items.

Summer is gradually turning into fall, and that means the summer produce season will soon turn into an autumn harvest! If you’re eager to do some cooking with fruits and vegetables that are at their peak right now, it helps to do a little research before hitting the farmer’s market. Make Meatless Monday your first stop! Here are the fruits and veggies that are in season right now:

ApplesIn addition to being a great source of fiber and Vitamin C, apples are loaded with phytonutrients that regulate blood sugar and pectin, which may slow down colon cancer.

GarlicGarlic provides tons of health benefits with its flavor – it’s a great source of Vitamins B6 and C, potassium, calcium, and anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative sulfuric compounds that have been studied for treating heart disease and the common cold.

Smartphone users now have a great option on the go for finding seasonal fruits and vegetables in your area. Download the Seasonal Food Guide – the most comprehensive online database of seasonal food on the internet! You can find the app on the App Store or Google Play by searching Seasonal Food Guide.

Get ready for a countrywide Meatless Monday! Next week, on September 25, Meatless Monday and Slow Food USA are teaming up for the Cook Up a Better Future campaign. Restaurants and chefs across the nation will create and serve delicious, plant-based meals putting three unsung ingredients in the spotlight. In the combined efforts of promoting biodiversity in food, reducing meat consumption, and fighting climate change, Cook Up a Better Future seeks to bring diners to the table for a great movement for food and the environment.

The three ingredients featured – Sea Island Red Peas, Carolina Gold Rice, and Sea Island Benne Seeds, all from Anson Mills are from Slow Food’s “Ark of Taste,” a global catalog of foods facing extinction.

Meatless Monday is very proud to join Goya Foods as it launches its new “Can Do” campaign. The campaign, which kicked off in June, seeks to fight hunger by matching food purchases with donations to those in need. Goya will send food donations to Feeding America for every purchase of a featured product every month. As part of the campaign, Meatless Monday will feature recipes using Goya’s “Can Do” products.

Goya’s “Can Do” campaign is part of a long-standing tradition for the Hispanic family-owned company which has always taken pride in giving back to communities.

“We have always believed in the importance of helping families in need,” said Bob Unanue, President of Goya Foods. “Since my grandfather started Goya in 1936, we have worked hard to demonstrate the values we hold true to the foundation of Goya Foods and what better way to give back to our country than with the nourishment of a healthy meal.”

Goya delivers food donations to Feeding America

Goya’s products provide excellent meat-free protein sources that can be incorporated into countless meals that are perfect for Meatless Monday.

As added incentive, the donations made by Goya will be in the name of Goya’s retail partners, including the many supermarkets across the country that sell Goya products. The “Can Do” campaign hopes to donate no less than 600,000 pounds of food to food banks, families and individuals throughout its year-long run.

If you want to be part of a great cause, join Meatless Monday in Goya’s “Can Do” campaign and help fight hunger across the nation! This month’s product, vegan refried beans, is the star of this great recipe:

A healthy plant-based diet doesn’t have to skip dessert! Loren Brill, founder of Sweet Loren’s, built her cookie dough company on a healthy foundation. Her four all-natural cookie dough products contain no hydrogenated oils, no trans fats, no high fructose corn syrup, and no artificial flavors. What Sweet Loren’s products do use are whole grains, natural sugar, and high-quality chocolate. It’s a health-conscious way to treat yourself on Meatless Monday that won’t sabotage your diet!

Loren Brill

The story of Sweet Loren’s explains why Brill focused on using only the best ingredients in her products. After beating cancer, she became very conscious of the foods she ate and their ingredients. To ensure that her own products reflect her personal mission, she doesn’t include anything she “can’t pronounce” and sticks to simple, whole-food ingredients in her simple, clean recipes. Brill says:

“At Sweet Loren’s, we are on a mission to change the way Americans bake and satisfy their sweet tooth. We’re excited to partner with Meatless Monday and promote our mission to eat better-tasting, better-for-you food while taking care of the Earth. I created a delicious dessert that will pair well with any meatless dinner. Once a week, you can make a whole meal that is plant-based and completely indulgent!”

As an added bonus, Brill features additional ways to prepare her cookie dough if you’re feeling more adventurous! Check out this video that uses Sweet Loren’s new Gluten Free Chocolate Chunk cookie dough to make a guilt-free sweet berry crumble on Meatless Monday.

As a citizen of Rochester, artist and educator Michelle Cardulla is an active part of the Meatless Monday cause in Upstate New York. She provides cooking classes and outings for kids as well as recipes for them to take home to their parents, sometimes teaming up with Super Bowl champ Roland “Big Ro” Williams. We spoke to Michelle about how her efforts are making a difference in Upstate New York and how she hopes to spread even more awareness of Meatless Monday and make Rochester a Meatless Monday city.

Meatless Monday: What made you choose the vegetarian lifestyle?
Michelle Cardulla: Well, it was actually because of an ex-boyfriend, embarrassing to say. I didn’t eat a lot of meat, but I’m half Colombian, half Italian so there was always meat around, such as chorizo and foods like that. But I love to cook and he was vegan, so I immediately switched.

Then I realized that this is better food and the whole concept about Meatless Monday is that it’s good for you, it’s good for the planet and good for the animals. So it happened instantly, and now I’m just hooked and crazy about it.

How do you feel about being a vegetarian in upstate New York?
We do have several places that offer vegan food that also have meat. But you find out that chefs really love the chance to make vegetarian and vegan dishes if you go a little early or call ahead and request it. There’s one place that we go to with friends, and we call the chef a day in advance and say, “Just cook us whatever you want.” He loves the challenge. All chefs are kind of into it if you give them a little bit of a heads up and aren’t demanding.

You also work a lot with kids. How do kids respond to Meatless Monday, or meatless as a rule? We know that kids don’t like rules, but they will do something that might be cool and different and experimental. Is that how you sell it to them?
I try to never treat it like a rule. For example, when I’m doing an art project with them, instead of “Hold the paper the hamburger way” I say “the veggie burger way,” and they laugh. So I make it something fun and they ask, “Veggie burger, what do you mean?” I said, “Well I’m a vegetarian so I hold it the veggie burger way.” It’s a win-win, and it’s always positive.

Then the food has to taste great. No one’s going to say, “I want steamed broccoli.” It’s got to be good. First it has to taste good, then it’s vegetarian or vegan, not the other way around. Otherwise you’ve lost the kids.

And involving them in the cooking is probably really fun, because then it’s not just food, it’s a project.
Exactly. I did a cooking class a few years ago and we made burritos, which are very easy to make with meatless crumbles and vegan cheese. Everyone got to make their own. Then I told them that there was no meat and no dairy in their burritos and they were shocked. They were quite young, so they’re learning the words “Meatless Monday,” “vegetarian,” “vegan” at an early age and having a great experience. We have a Kinderfarmin’ event where we take them on a field trip with a picnic and they get to pet animals. I mean, food, animals – you got them! They’ll never forget that.

So you just talked about how easy it is to sell kids on Meatless Monday. What about their parents?
You know, I don’t really deal with the parents that much. But I try to send them home with little things like a little recipe. Adults are a little bit tougher than the kids because they’re stuck on what they want.

You’ve worked with Roland “Big Ro” Williams, and I think one of the most effective things in the vegetarian scene is having powerful, successful athletes proudly proclaim their vegetarianism or veganism. Has working with athletes such as Big Ro made a difference in this?
He’s a hero! He’s a guy who won the Super Bowl. He gets up there and does his speeches, saying “Miss Michelle’s over there cooking up vegan food and I’m a vegan.” That is worth a million dollars. When celebrities say it, when athletes say it, people want to emulate them. They want to be like them. So the more celebrity and sports people saying that they’re vegan, the better. Especially the people with big muscles showing that they’re vegan!

What’s your ideal goal for Meatless Monday in Rochester by the end of 2017?
First of all, I’d like to make it a Meatless Monday city. I think we can do that because I think I can talk the mayor into supporting it. I also want to get the restaurants involved and continue my programs with kids. Keep on spreading the word and building awareness of Meatless Monday. I want everybody to know what Meatless Monday is.

This week, Meatless Monday is putting the spotlight on a new addition to the meat-free campaign. Morrison Healthcare at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona recently implemented Meatless Monday in their three cafeterias, serving vegetarian meals once a week to staff and visitors of the top hospital in the state. The campaign was well-received by everyone who took part and its successful launch may bring Meatless Monday to other Mayo Clinics in Rochester, Minnesota and Jacksonville, Florida.

We spoke to Eric Schiellerd, Executive Chef at Morrison Healthcare, to see how Meatless Monday is going and what he has planned:

Chef Eric Schiellerd

What was the impetus for starting Meatless Monday in your cafeterias?
The Meatless Monday concept was first brought to me in 2015 at McLaren Hospital in Michigan. I was very excited to try something new and fresh for our operation. Unfortunately I didn’t have a lot of support getting the program off the ground. After transferring to Mayo Clinic Phoenix I quickly learned of the strong push for great tasting vegetarian options in our cafes. I teamed up with our wellness coordinator Laura Dan and we have been building a great program for our client and guests.

What kind of feedback have you received from customers since offering Meatless Monday options?
The feedback has been wonderful with most of our customers. They love to have options and a plant-based entrée is what was missing from our menus.

How do you think Mayo Clinic in Phoenix can serve as an example to other cafeterias in medical facilities?
I think in every facility you have people telling you a meatless option won’t work and is a waste of time, but you can’t let them talk you out of a great program like this. With great marketing, food and menu choices it can work for just about any operation.

Do you think that providing health-focused food choices in a hospital cafeteria encourages hospital staff to “practice what they preach” and take better care of themselves?
I think all people in this type of environment want to be healthier. If they trust that the food will taste as good as it is good for them, they will buy in to it.

Do you participate in Meatless Monday yourself? Share some thoughts on your philosophy on meatless eating.
I do participate in one meatless meal every Monday. I think it’s tragic to see of all the plant-based food that is turned back into the soil because it isn’t “pretty enough” for the supermarket. We need to get creative and make great tasting meals using these products. Programs like Meatless Monday let us do that very thing. I’m proud to work in an organization that gives me the freedom to menu all types of food, including great plant based meals.

If you want to bring Meatless Monday to your business or organization, or if you already participate in Meatless Monday – we want to know! Get in touch with us at info@meatlessmonday.com!